


Canon Era Revisited (Legends of Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow)

by LegendsofMerlin



Series: Legends of Camelot [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: (not for long), Canon Era, F/M, Green-haired!Gwaine, Gwaine has a demon-possessed friend with benefits, Gwaine loves conditioner, Legends of Tomorrow - Freeform, Morgana learns about feminism, Morgwen baby, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-04-06 20:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19070224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegendsofMerlin/pseuds/LegendsofMerlin
Summary: Gwaine and Morgana—who left the repressive Camelot behind to join forces with the Legends of Tomorrow—have trouble adjusting to their new life as time travelers.Meanwhile things aren't looking too peachy in Camelot, either.Good news: King Arthur has survived the battle of Camlann.Bad news: He still hasn't legalized magic.Can Gwaine and Morgana (or anyone else, really) save the day?





	1. Trouble in Paradise

Gwaine wandered through the halls of the Waverider, feeling forlorn. It was night, or so he thought. (It was so hard to tell on a timeship.)

He had gotten reasonably well adjusted to the "whole situation." Well, as "well adjusted" as a knight from King Arthur's Camelot could get to living on a timeship. Which, apparently, wasn't very much. 

Gwaine felt like a caged animal. After having spent his whole previous life living in tune with the rhythms of nature, he hadn't seen sunlight in what must have been a week.   
  
Instead of training outside in the fields, his training routine was confined to a room (without windows). Instead of plucking an apple from a tree, he had to get it from a machine in the kitchen. Instead of candles, an overly bright light(that used to give him headaches) illuminated every single corner of the Waverider at all times.  
  
Speaking of headaches, those were immediately cured by "Gideon," the Waverider's AI (yes, Gwaine had learned what an AI was). And no, these instantaneous recoveries shouldn't be as grating to Gwaine as they were.  
  
During his first day on board the Waverider, Gideon had subjected him to a thorough (and rather embarrassing) complete medical exam, stating concerns about the health of the rest of the crew.   
  
Gwaine had gotten rather angry at the suggestion that _he_  was the health risk. After all, three other members of their current crew had spent weeks upon weeks in Camelot. During their stay there, they had seemed rather healthy.  
  
However, once they had returned to this timeship, things had changed: When he wasn't flying the Waverider while consuming mind-altering substances, the Legend's resident historian Nate, wouldn't sleep for nights at a time. Ray, who had been eating normally in Camelot, suddenly claimed that he couldn't have the majority of foods known to mankind and subsisted on some strange beverages called "protein shakes." Recently, the Waverider's captain, Sara Lance, had gotten possessed by a demon. 

And _he_ was supposed to be the health risk here? 

Gideon had insisted on her examination and, well, Gwaine had been extremely grateful, at first. Ailments that had been bothering him for years had disappeared, like magic. Gwaine also hadn't complained about Gideon's medical attention after getting headbutted in one of those places that passed for a tavern these days _—_ a place called CBGB in 1984 New York (which was overseas from Albion) and apparently well know for its (truly horrific) music.   
  
But still. The whole thing felt rather lifeless. Gwaine groaned as he realized that he actually missed the vile potions Gaius, Camelot's Court Physician, concocted to treat his patient's ailments. That wasn't boding well for his satisfaction with the "whole situation."

Speaking of Sara, Gwaine wasn't so sure anymore that things were meant to be with her. Apart from the whole demon-thing (which, admittedly wasn't really her fault), Sara apparently had had a tumble with her magician-friend John Constantine during one of their missions (while Gwaine had been confined to "ship duty").   
  
Gwaine wasn't happy about that. Sure, this Constantine character had apparently saved her soul, and Gwaine understood that Sara felt connected to him for that. And yet, finding out about the whole incident had hurt. Which is why he was currently walking the hallways of the Waverider instead of sleeping next to Sara.   
  
A noise shook him out of his thoughts. Something crashed in the kitchen. "Stupid thing!" 

Gwaine smiled. He never thought the sound of Morgana's voice would make him happy but it reminded him of home. He wasn't sure whether "home" was Albion, Camelot, the time period he came from or all of the above, but the fact of the matter was that he had more in common with her than with anyone else on this ship. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for the record: I love Sara's character. If she ever comes across a bit negatively in Gwaine's description, that's a) because it's Gwaine's description and b) plot convenience.


	2. Speaking with the Enemy

Morgana sat in the Waverider's kitchen, feeling gloomy. Being on the Waverider had exacerbated her nightly visions and not even Gideon had a solution to her problem. She was tired of seeing apocalyptic scenario after apocalyptic scenario. Her lack of sleep made her more clumsy than usual, which had contributed to the tea that was now spilled on the floor. 

"Morgana?" She looked up to see Gwaine peeking around the corner.   
  
"Yes?" Morgana's voice must have sounded as tired as she felt. 

"I heard a crash."

Morgana nodded. "It's nothing."  
  
Gwaine advanced. "May I sit?"

"Suit yourself." Morgana waved her hands to clear up the mess on the floor, then turned to him. "It's strange to see you in these clothes."   
  
Gwaine nodded. "It's strange to wear them."

They sat in silence for a moment before Morgana spoke. "I had another therapy session today." It was one of those modern things that took some getting used to but was actually rather helpful once you got the hang of it. Or found a therapist (via a fellow warlock) who didn't think you were crazy just because you happened to be a witch straight out of the Arthurian legend. Speaking of which, Morgana still found it weird that her little brother Arthur somehow had gotten turned into a legend. (And yes, she had spent a few days or perhaps weeks obsessively reading through the Arthurian legend material Gideon had provided her with.)

"How did it go?" Gwaine got up. "Do you also want something to drink?" 

"Another tea." Morgana waited until Gwaine returned with a cold beer and a steaming tea. "This is quite practical. Like having your personal servant around at all times."

"I wouldn't know. I never was one for having a servant." Gwaine placed the mug in front of her and faked an exaggerated bow. "My Lady." 

"I wasn't, either." Morgana paused. "I owe you an apology for how I treated you when you were in my captivity." Morgana glanced over at Gwaine, who had remained silent. "Can you please say something?"   
  
When Gwaine turned towards her his look was mischievous. "Did you like it?"

"Did I like what?" Morgana startled when he moved closer to her. 

"Keeping me in chains, in your dungeon."   
  
Morgana blushed. After the first awkwardness (what with having been on different sides of a war and all that) had subsided, Gwaine and Morgana had stopped avoiding each other. There were just so many new things to learn and discover, and they needed someone to talk to about their insights into the future. "It was a necessary evil." 

Gwaine leaned forward. "Pity. It seems to be quite popular these days."

Morgana straightened herself up into what she knew to be a regal pose. "I only did what needed to be done." Together, they had learned a lot about the culture of their ship mates, including "smart phones" (both Gwaine and Morgana agreed with Gideon's assessment that those were silly), anti-baby pills (both Gwaine and Morgana agreed that those were useful) and what apparently passed for literature these days. Morgana could only assume that Gwaine was referring to that god-awful work "Fifty Shades of Blue" or whatever it was called. She cleared her throat. "Do you accept my apology?" 

Gwaine nodded. "There's no reason to carry a grudge." 

"Thank you." Morgana was grateful for his forgiveness. Forcing Gwaine to fight for his food hadn't been one of her finer moments in life. Her therapist would be so proud of her for having made it through this conversation with Gwaine (although she assumed that Dr. Goodwin would never have expected Gwaine to be such a flirt about the whole thing). Feeling relieved, Morgana took a sip of her tea. 

"Do you... do you miss it?"  
  
He didn't have to clarify what "it" was. "Every day." Morgana sighed. Now that she was seeing things more clearly again, she missed the company of people she had once been close to. Gwen, Arthur, Merlin, Gaius, Mordred... Them, and of course Aithusa, the white dragon she had formed a close relationship with. She looked at the table. "It's strange to be missing them, though. Mordred stabbed me in the back. Merlin poisoned me. Gaius..."  
  
"Merlin poisoned you?" Gwaine looked like he was in shock. "When did he do that?" 

"When the army of the dead was marching on Camelot." She waved it aside. "It's in the past." 

"The far past." Gwaine nodded. "Apparently we're all legends now."   
  
"You are, perhaps." Morgana set down her tea. "I appear to be portrayed more as an anti-legend." 

"How undeserved." Gwaine emptied his beer. 

"In my case, that might be accurate. However, they made grave errors with so many stories." She looked over to Gwaine. "Did you know that some stories claim that Mordred is the son of Arthur and my sister Morgause." She scrunched up her face. "How disgusting."  
  
"Careful there, auntie! You're talking about my beloved mother and brother." Gwaine gave her a friendly shove. "Seriously, though, I have no idea how those stories came to be." 

"I'm glad you're not my nephew." Morgana smiled.   
  
"Yes, you'd make a terrible role model." Gwaine got up. A few moments later he returned with another beer. 

"I want to go back." The words had just spilled out of her mouth but Morgana felt relieved as soon as she had said them. 


	3. Perfect and Not-So-Perfect Hair

After their late-night heart-to-heart about the past, the present, and the future (on the Waverider, these terms got confusing very quickly), Morgana and Gwaine went back to normal.  
  
Which meant that Morgana went back to her therapist Dr. Goodwin.  
  
And Gwaine, he went back to his demon-possessed friend with benefits. Yes, he had learned what that term meant and it had been a painful lesson, involving a certain 21st century warlock. After discovering what exactly John Constantine and Sara had been up to in that laundry room on one of their missions, for the briefest of moments Gwaine found himself agreeing with Camelot's strong anti-magic stance. Perhaps Uther had been right and sorcerers really were evil incarnate? But given his beloved's demon-infestation, Gwaine realized that he wasn't exactly in a position to cast judgment on anyone.  
  
Except Morgana's hair. Gwaine was in exactly the right position to cast judgment on the modern art project (yes, Gwaine had been exposed to the horrors of modern art) that Morgana was spouting on her head. The former knight had taken to 21st-century haircare products with ease, and thanks to conditioner, his hair had never been shinier. 

In contrast, Morgana still seemed to avoid brushes like the plague. One day, Gwaine had had enough. He marched the swearing and kicking High Priestess of the Old Religion into the Waverider's one and only bathroom, grabbed the hair-care products he had already set aside and began unraveling the mess on her head.   
  
Morgana hadn't turned him into a toad, so Gwaine counted the project as a win.   
  


* * *

  
Of course, Morgana was already planning to have her revenge on Gwaine by ruining his perfect hair. Sure, the former knight was right in that she had perhaps let personal care slip a little bit. In her defense, she had been a tad bit busy trying to overtake Camelot and planning to ~~keep Gwaine in chains in her dungeon~~  liberate magic users all across the land. 

Besides, feminism (yes, of course Morgana had learned about feminism) had taught her a lot, which is why all her ~~conversations~~  shouting matches with Gwaine went somewhere along those lines:   
  
"Admit it, you enjoy your new hairstyle!"  
  
"There was nothing wrong with my old one."

"You looked like a witch."  
  
"I AM a witch!"  
  
"Doesn't mean you need to look like one."  
  
"Your anti-magic bias is disgusting. Also, stop judging me by my appearance, Gwaine. Women are not objects."  
  
"That's a bit rich coming from the person who forces me to take off my shirt every chance she gets."  
  
"You liked it!"  
  
"Have you ever even heard of affirmative consent, Morgana?"  
  
"Check your male privilege!"   
  
"Yes, the privilege of getting killed in senseless wars!" Gwaine, not to be outdone by Morgana, had taken a deep dive into the world of male rights activists.  
  
Of course, that didn't help him one iota when he woke up one morning with green hair. 


	4. Not a Damsel in Distress

One night (Gwaine presumed it was night because everyone except Nate _—_ who had once again locked himself into the library _—_ was sleeping), he caught Morgana sneaking out of the Waverider's jump ship. 

While she _had_ turned his hair back to its natural lustrous color, Gwaine wasn't quite ready to forgive Morgana just yet. His relationship with Sara (already on the verge of disintegrating) hadn't been able to recover from the triple whammy of demon-possession (Sara's), warlock-tumble transgression (also Sara's) and bad hair fashion (Gwaine's). When he wasn't feeling charitable, the former knight mused that that was perhaps the outcome Morgana had been going for.   
  
Gwaine had just moved his pillow and blanket from Sara's quarters to the training room. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep but, unlike his coddled 21st century team mates, he was perfectly okay with that. It reminded Gwaine of hunting trips with his brotherhood of knights.  
  
The former knight realized that he liked living on the edge _—_ and there wasn't really an edge when Gideon was able to heal virtually everything _—_ from restoring missing body parts to healing hangovers.   
  
When he had decided to join the Legends, he also hadn't expected that saving the world could be quite as sedentary. Gwaine was missing horses. Quests. Patrols. Really, anything was better than being trapped in here. Even Morgana's dungeon had been slightly more entertaining.

Speaking of Morgana, Gwaine decided that he'd sneak up on her. He regretted that decision immediately when Morgana instinctively threw him to the ground (using her body, not magic).   
  
"Huh," she said, looking down at Gwaine.   
  
"What?" Gwaine squinted his eyes. The light behind Morgana was rather bright.  

"Perhaps it's good for something, after all?"

"What is?" 

"The training with Sara." She extended an arm to him to help him up. Gwaine hesitated for a moment before accepting her help.   
  
"I don't see the point." Gwaine got up and dusted his pants.

"Oh, is this about your outdated gender roles again?" Morgana placed her hands on her hips. "Would you rather have me be a damsel in distress that needs your rescuing?"  
  
"Morgana," Gwaine carefully placed his hands on her shoulders, "you were never a damsel in distress." He looked into her eyes. "What I mean is that you have magic, powerful magic. You don't need Sara's training to throw me on the ground." 

Morgana removed his hands from her shoulders. "But it's more fun that way." She turned to walk towards her room.   
  
Gwaine followed her. "Where were you?"  
  
"None of your business." Morgana quickened her pace.   
  
"Perhaps not mine. But it is Sara's business. She's the captain, after all." Gwaine caught up with her and walked by her side.   
  
"Oh you and your sweetheart Sara." Morgana almost spit out the words.   
  
"She's not my sweetheart." Gwaine sighed. "It's over." He looked over at Morgana. "Wait, were you jealous?"  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, Gwaine." They stopped in front of her room. 

Gwaine figured it was as good a situation as any to push her against the wall and interrogate her: "Where. Were. You?"   
  
Morgana blew him a kiss. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."   
  
"Something tells me that that was on your agenda anyway." Gwaine released her.   
  
Morgana's futuristic door slid open. "Are you coming?" Morgana quirked one of her eyebrows.   
  
"Didn't you just threaten to kill me?" Gwaine quirked one of his eyebrows in response.  
  
"Has that ever stopped you before?"  
  
"Point taken." Gwaine rushed after Morgana.   
  


* * *

  
"You did WHAT?" Gwaine was afraid that he'd woken up half of the ship.   
  
"Nothing happened." Morgana leaned back, cocktail glass in her hand.   
  
"It turns out that Leonardo da Vinci is gay. As is Michelangelo."   
  
"As I had pointed out to you, Ms. Pendragon," Gideon piped up. "Multiple times."   
  
"Yes, yes." Morgana waved the comment aside.   
  
"What were you thinking?" Gwaine made an effort to keep his voice down.   
  
"What I'm thinking is that my dear brother and my former maidservant still haven't successfully conceived an heir. If they both die, Camelot _—_ and by extension all of Albion _—_ will fall into chaos." She sighed. "Well, more chaos than it already is in."   
  
"So let me get this straight:out of concern about your half-brother's childlessness, you stole the jump ship, traveled to the 1500 Republic of Florence _—_ and tried to seduce this Leonardo da Vinci guy that I have never heard about?" Gwaine shook his head. "And I always thought Arthur was the dumber Pendragon."   
  
"When you put it like that..." Morgana coughed.   
  
"What were you even trying to accomplish?" Gwaine was still shocked. Given that he had seen people resurrected from the dead and/or possessed by demons and was currently located on a time ship, this was quite the accomplishment.  
  
"Giving Camelot an heir." Morgana looked at him. "I'm Uther's daughter. I'm a Pendragon, too. And if my brother can't give Camelot the heir it needs, perhaps I can."   
  
"What does Leonardo da Vinci have to do with this?" Gwaine stared at her. "Please tell me it's not what I think it is."   
  
Morgana straightened herself up. "I asked Gideon for a list of male geniuses. And, Leonardo da Vinci was near the top of the list."   
  
"GIDEON!"


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours after Gideon had surprised Gwaine and Morgana with surprising news, the two former time travellers found themselves back in Camelot. Specifically, they found themselves in a private audience with Arthur and Guinevere (which Morgana had requested).

One might say that things were going a bit… suboptimally.

“You want me to carry… your child?” Guinevere looked at Morgana as if she had gone insane.

Arthur blinked. “Um, Morgana… you do realize you are a woman, right?” He looked at Gwaine. “She is a woman, isn’t she?”

Gwaine shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not like I checked. She always makes me take off my shirt when I’m in her captivity but never returns the favor.”

Morgana cleared her throat before drawing herself up to her full height: “It’s possible. In the future, it is possible. If we combine my…,” Morgana drifted off, wondering how to explain the wonders of modern medicine to her prattish half-brother, “my _life_ _essence_ with Gwen’s, we can have a child.”

She paused. “Well, you. You two. You can have a child.” Gideon had explained to her that this procedure could only result in a female child which was a piece of information that Morgana decided to keep quiet about at this point. After all, Camelot still had a long way to go when it came to gender equality. But she would worry about that after she had convinced Gwen to carry her spawn. She smiled at Arthur: “Think about it! It’s the ideal solution. The child will be a Pendragon and, because Gwen carries it, everybody will think it’s yours.”

“Any solution that involves _you_ ,” he glared at Morgana, “lying with my wife cannot be called an ideal solution.”

“I don’t need to lie with her!” Morgana protested. “Gwen and I don’t even need to touch. Gideon has assured us that is has been done many times before and that it’s safe. As I said,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “ideal solution.”

Gwaine nodded: “She does have a point.” He paused, before adding a hasty, “Sire,” to the end of his sentence.

Arthur groaned. “The day I take advice from you, Gwaine, will be the day I abdicate.”

Gwen smiled. “I… I think it’s a wonderful idea.” She beamed at Morgana, then at Arthur.

Arthur grumbled.

“I have one condition, though,” Morgana said.

“What’s that?”

“In exchange for helping you have an heir, I want magic to be legalized in Camelot.”

Arthur glared at her. “So what you’re telling me is that in exchange for impregnating my wife, you also tell me how to run my kingdom?”

Morgana nodded at him. “I really am that wonderful.” She walked towards her brother: “So, do we have a deal?”

“Fine!” Arthur grumbled. He stared at Gwaine: “Will you please make an honest woman out of her.”

And that’s how magic returned to the land, Camelot got its beloved crown princess Morgwen and Morgana ended up with a man who could keep up with her. 


End file.
